Quebec is backing Alberta’s call for tougher penalties for drug offences and the reversal of related legislative changes adopted by the federal government.
Quebec’s Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette took to social media this week to support Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s criminal justice initiatives, while also calling on Ottawa to reintroduce minimum mandatory sentencing policies for drug offences.
“Alberta Premier Danielle Smith was right to criticize legislative changes in Canada’s Liberal Party that undermine citizens’ confidence in the justice system,” he said in his Feb. 24 post. “I wanted to convey Quebec’s support in her approach.”
Jolin-Barrette also posted a copy of a Feb. 24 op-ed he penned for the National Post that criticizes Bill C-5, legislation passed in 2022 that eliminated all mandatory minimum sentences for Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA) offences. It also scrapped mandatory minimum sentences for many weapons and substance-related offences under the Criminal Code of Canada….